Safari Consultants Traveller Reviews

I visited Botswana for the sixth time, my third through Safari Consultants. I consider Botswana to be the best of all the safari destinations. I stayed for three nights at each of three lodges - Savute Safari Lodge, Kanana and Okuti, all excellent. Saw two of my favourites - wild dog and leopard. All in all, another dream holiday in Africa.

My third time travelling with Safari Consultants, and as usual everything ran like clockwork. Lodges were exactly as described, and all the flights and connections worked perfectly. No surprise really, as I consider Safari Consultants to be an extremely professional and knowledgeable team, who deal with their clients on a very personal basis. Highly recommended.

A group of 5 of us started off with a 3 night stay at Ithumba, in Tsavo East, a Sheldrick release site, followed by 3 nights at Umani release site in Tsavo West. An amazing experience. I then continued on my own, flying to spend 6 lovely nights in Mara south at Nkorombo. My second visit to this small very friendly camp right by the Mara river, where everyone mucks in at mealtimes, exchanging news of viewings and crossings on their drives. The game was abundant and the camp setting perfect. I loved being lulled to sleep by the sound of the river, and entertained by Hippo conversations. Here each individual or group has it's own vehicle, driver and spotter, allowing one to linger as long as one likes at any particular sighting, without being regulated by interests of other folk sharing the same vehicle. Finally I flew back to Nairobi for a two night stay at one of my favourite lodges, Emakoko, on the edge of the National Park. The situation, comfort and level of care at Emakoko is superb, to say nothing of the brilliant cuisine. This is my favourite place both to start and end safaris. As I sponsor several of the Sheldrick elephant orphans, it gives me easy access to the Sheldrick elephant orphanage as well as the opportunity of having game viewing drives in the Park. In fact without any fences and being totally adjacent to the Park, it is regularly visited by some of its four legged inhabitants, both day and night. Two evenings running we were visited by a leopard hunting right by the lodge, though it was very shy and difficult to spot. But the Vervets could see it and their screaming alerted us to its presence. A small herd of buffalo settled down to sleep the night near the swimming pool. Bush buck and other small antelopes visited the gardens and Baboons and Hyrax scurried around during the day.

I have travelled with Safari Consultants for well nigh 30 years and have total confidence in their reccommendations. They make all my arrangements for me and I can't thank them enough for the amazing experiences I have enjoyed thanks to their knowledge and advice. I started off by doing 2 walking safaris in the Selous, which were without doubt the best trips ever, but now age has caught up with me, my trips need to be a lot more sedate, but still very enoyable. I've visited Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya, as well as having wonderful stays in S. Africa, all beautifully organized by Safari Consultants.

Rob Slater put together a first-time safari trip for us in Kenya. The wildlife viewing was excellent with close-ups of big cats and elephants, but we were also able to do some interesting walking safaris at a number of camps. It was brilliant to be able to experience the extraordinary Samburu culture first hand, and to be able to discuss their way of life with a local guide. The hospitality provided at each camp was superb with everyone trying to ensure that we had the best possible experience. The lack of internet access for 10 days really focussed us on getting the very most out of our time in Kenya without distraction and is to be recommended.

Rob Slater put together a first-time safari trip for us in Kenya following considerable discussion and got the balance just right with a mix of land cruiser and walking safaris as well as insight into the local culture in one area. The lodges and camps suited us perfectly and catered to every need.

A superb photographic safariworkshop with Bob Brind-Surch to Botswana & Zimbabwi. Plenty of wildlife viewing and superb variety of locations. A real privilege to live briefly alongside the wonderful wildlife. A truly memorable experience that will stay in the memory bank for a very long time

The Third time I have travelled on safari with Safari Consultants and Bob Brind-Surch. As always, superbly organised with full attention to every detail ensuring a very smooth and well run holiday despite several location changes.

We spent 4 nights in Zambia at Waterberry Lodge on the Zambezi River. This was a wonderful gentle start to our holiday, which included a walk around the local village and school, boat trips and sundowners on the river, a birdwatching walk, and as an extra, a wonderful helicopter trip over Victoria Falls. We then crossed the river to Botswana where we were met by our guide for 4 nights of mobile camping in the Chobe and Savuti regions. This was an unforgettable experience, sleeping in the African bush and listening to the lions roar and the baboons barking through the night, not to mention the hyenas and jackals, wild dogs and occasional leopard. We then flew to the Okavango Delta to Footsteps, an intimate and private camp specialising in walking safaris. This turned out to be our favourite part of the holiday. The guides were superb, the atmosphere serene and peaceful on the edge of a lagoon where the hippos wallowed and splashed. We then took another short flight over the Delta and spent our last three nights at Kanana camp enjoying a little more luxury and spending a very special night under the stars at their sleep out platform in the bush. The food throughout was superb, the guides and camp staff friendly, relaxed and so knowledgable. But of course the stars of the show were the lions, leaopards, cheetahs, crocs, hippos, elephants, giraffes, hyenas, wild dogs, jackals, zebra, buffalo, willdebeest, impala, kudu and every type of antelope imaginable, not to mention the huge array of birds, all of which showed up when least expected and never failed to astound and humble us. Everything came together seamlessly and exceeded our wildest expectations. Thank you Rob for totally "getting" us when we explained what we hoped for from our first safari.

Rob at safari-consultants put together a superb programme for us. He listened to us and took in exactly what we wanted to achieve from our safari. The internal flights and coordination between various camps and lodges were flawless, and we felt that we wasted no time travelling from one area to another as we often saw wonderful game along the way. The information and advice we received prior to departing was very good, and we were very impressed that our dietary requirements reached each destination ahead of us. The experience was unforgettable.

9 fabulous days exploring the SW of Uganda by road, from Entebbe through Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to Lake Mburu National Park and return to Entebbe. Seeing the "real" Uganda up close was as much a highlight as the abundant and varied wildlife viewing. The gorilla trekking is extremely strenuous but worth every shattering moment for the privilege of spending time with these magnificent animals; the UWA guides and porters do an amazing job. All our lodges were immaculate and super-comfortable, with friendly invested staff and spectacular locations. Our driver was friendly, fun, knowledgeable, discreetly efficient and lifted the holiday to a whole new level that we would've missed out on had we transferred by air. We can't wait to go back and see the northern part of this gorgeous country.

Safari Consultants in UK / ground agent in Uganda Great Lakes Safaris - both efficient, thorough, clearly know their territory and their business. All information provided to us was comprehensive, largely accurate and sent in plenty of time.

Stayed at Kicheche Mara in North Conservancy, 5* as always and the game viewing was superb, guides were knowledgeable and went out of their way to get us good views and a selection of animals.

As always professional, organised and very helpful with assistance applying for eVisa for Kenya

The holiday was to Zambia, the South luangwa national park in particular. The three camps chosen for us were all of a very high standard both in facilities and service. My partner has some mobility problems but the staff at all the camps were extremely helpful.

We were confident that we would receive the service we did because of the care that Safari Consultants take with their choice camps and their knowledge of our tastes and requiremnts.

Safari Consultants organized a wonderful safari holiday to Zimbabwe and visit to Victoria Falls. The Mana Pools National Park is beautifully situated along the Zambezi River and offers canoeing and boat trips. Hwange National Park has a remarkable population of elephants which can be seen drinking at the many water holes each night.

Safari Consultants has organized all of our African safari vacations in Southern and East Africa. They are extremely knowledgeable and always tailor each vacation to our personal preferences for accommodation and activities.

I travelled with a friend to climb Kilimanjaro, and she then returned to the UK, whilst I travelled back to meet my family in Nairobi, before flying to the Masai Mara, and then to Kinondo Kwetu near Diani Beach. Pre and post climb, we stayed at Rivertrees near Arusha - a very relaxed and informal property. The staff were attentive and friendly, and the quality of the food was excellent. Hoopoe safaris ran the climb. The guides and porter team were superb - we had everything we needed, and they certainly exceeded our expectations. I was particularly impressed with the food provided, and the safety procedures that we went through every day. All of us made it to the summit, which was fantastic! Kicheche Mara camp was brilliant - and Rachel, the camp manager, was extremely attentive and well organised. Special thanks to Moses who looked after our tent, and to Francis, our guide. He was superb - so knowledgeable and passionate about the wildlife and conservation. Our daughter had an amazing time and has declared she's refusing to go anywhere other than Africa on future holidays! We then finished off with an idyllic week at Kinondo Kwetu - total relaxation, but with lots of activities. Tennis, horse riding, snorkelling, scuba diving. A lovely big property but low capacity (max 38 guests, I think),so you could always find a quiet spot - we pretty much had the beautiful beach to ourselves most days. A couple of observations re responsible tourism: - there was quite a lot of litter on Kili (mainly toilet paper). When you check in at the gate, people should be asked to keep their rubbish in a small bag and then dispose of it when they are at a camp. This should be reinforced by the guides. - we were lucky to be in.a private conservancy, but in the National Park, the amount of land rovers following animals was quite disturbing and I am sure was stressing the animals. I know this is a real balancing act, but I can see how this pressure will ultimately change the behaviours of the animals. - Consistency on tipping advice. On Kili we had differing advice from Safari Consultants, Hoopoe and the Park itself. We took the middle ground, but we didn't really know which on etc follow -we didn't want to overtip, but also didn't want to appear ungrateful, as the service we had received was excellent. Overall, we had the most amazing trip - and I think I can honestly say, this has been the best summer I've had!!!

The support in putting the holiday together was fantastic - Michele was able to make great recommendations based on our requirements, and even had Hoopoe change the dates of their group climb to fit in with our timetable! She and Eloise dealt with all the questions we had, and the communication was excellent. I honestly felt as though nothing was too much trouble, and they really listened to what we wanted, in order to give us the best experience we could have possibly had. I was recommended to Safari Consultants by a friend, and would have no hesitation in recommending them to other travellers.